Saturday, December 29, 2007

Day Eight and Nine - Headed Home

We got up the morning of our last day to begs from Kelsey to take her back to the beach so she could jump the rock again - and this time bring the camera! Our flights didn't leave until evening, so we decided to grant her her wish! We packed everything up, checked out of the hotel, and then desended upon Gigi and Papa's condo where we would squat until it was time to leave for the airport. Chris took the girls to the beach to go jump off the cliff, and I took Kaden to the pool. Here's the proof that both Kelsey and Kaitlyn jumped!

Here's Kelsey jumping first, then Kaitlyn:

Then it was off to the airport. Chris and Julia's flight was at 6pm, ours was at 8:30pm. We had to fly to Kona, then to Seattle, then to Minneapolis. The section from Maui to Kona (on the Big Island) was a nightmare. Kaden did not want to be back on the plane and he screamed for the entire 45 minute flight! Then we sat inthe plane for an hour until we finally departed to Seattle. Kaden finally fell asleep and the rest of the journey was tolerable. We arrived in Seattle at 6am (Seattle time) and departed for MSP at 7am, although the flight was a little late in taking off. It was also late in landing - they had us in a holding pattern over MSP for nearly an hour. We finally landed - and this is Kaden's favorite part! He sat on my lap and squealed "Weeeeee Weeeeee" over and over as we descended.

Once on the ground, we connected with Chris who had just landed as well. His flight was supposed to get in at 9am, and he was supposed to have the car ready and warm for us :) Well, his flight to MSP was canceled, so he fortunately got on the next one out from Dallas.

The last bit of drama was that Kaitlyn discovered she had left her cell phone (or as she calls it, her tumor) on the plane. This was, of course, AFTER we'd left the secured area and were in baggage claim. So, she had to go through security again and run back to the gate, where they mercifully had her phone. All was right in her world finally. We all finally got home about 4pm, exhausted, but happy for the chance to do this trip and spend this special time with my parents.

4 comments:

your photos are great! Thanks for sharing all of this wonderful info about a great vacation. I can't believe that the girls jumped off the rock - very cool!I am sorry that you and Chris had to fly on different flights. That is kind of stinky, but I'm guessing that he had to take Julia home?So, is it winter enough for you here in Minnesota? I wish it would quit snowing - I'm a little over it.Enjoy the transition back into the real world. Happy New Year!A.

JYou should know by now that I am totally fickle. And impatient. And all of this is because I have a damned short attention span. The snow is simply too much of the same. So, now - to deal with the onset of winter boredom - I've got to start ridiculous projects around the house. I hate house projects. I start a million of them, but never finish most of them. (Drives Mary Lou over the deep end. tee hee hee.) Why don't I finish the projects that I start, you ask? Didn't I just mention my short attention span? Shoot, I forgot that I was trying to bake brownies. Gotta run - I think their burning! Crap.A